Dalat Hillside town

 Night Bus Nightmare

Bus Stop for Pho at 2am

We arrived in Nang trang at 6am after a grueling overnight bus from Hoi Ann. It was the least comfortable mode of overnight transportation I've ever had. I've had some bad buses, but this was the worst.

The millions of bumps jolted me, the non-stop honking haunted me and the absence of a toliet worried me.

It was one of those nights where the worst of a persons character comes out and you pray your boyfriend still adores you when the moment passes.

As we were pulling up to Nang Trang, Peter was beginning to read his favourite part of the Lonely Planet "dangers and annoyances." He read aloud all of the things we were beginning to see at 6am from the safety of the bus windows: a bit of sketch.
We saw all of the drunk foriegners lining the streets and made an immediate and collaborative decision to run to the recommended Sinh cafe and ask for the next bus to Dalat (we were planning on going to the foothill town anyways, we just thought Nang Trang would have been a night stop to relax).
Getting off the bus in Nang Trang was the first time we had been harrassed since we had arrived in the country and we were not used to it. We were both so dirty and grumpy from the overnight bus that it just wasn't good timing! The place was too much like Miamai beach or something, lots of single male tourist..cough cough.
After grabbing a quick and very fabulous breakfast on the beach front for $3 each, we hopped on the 8am bus from Nang Trang and arrived in beautiful Dalat six hours later.
The last hour of the bus ride to Dalat was all uphill and winding around moutains, scenic views of remote villages and finally arriving in the cloud-overed town.

Completely broken and exhausted from all the buses, we found "Dream hotel" (it is a bit of a dream) and has the most incredible included breakfast I've ever encountered (in a home kitchen on a massive table with every different type of fruit we were craving. It was the best tasting fruit we had had during the whole trip. The staff preparing the breakfast were kind to made sure to constantly replenish the food as it quickly disapeared with Peter and I filling our bellies until the brink of bursting. 

All you can eat^^

Our room was $20 and had a very french feel to it,with fresh flowers in a vase beside the vanity mirror.
The owner was a wonderfully kind woman who awoke every morning before 5am to work at her other business, her meat shop. She was one of those characters who make you feel as though by breakfast they have lived a full life and you have done nothing but sleep. My mom is the only other woman I've met who makes me feel that way:)

We were so excited for a shower because it was to the point that we both looked like characters from the jungle book (Peter was Moguely the jungle boy and my hair was starting to dred)

We had gotten on the overnight bus straight from the beach in Hoi Ann and the sand was still all over us, but now mixed with dirt and sweat.

The power went out in the town and horray! there was no hot water! haha

Our showers were ice cold and to try to be positive we used the vocabulary 'refreshing,' in reference to our bathing experience.

Freshly showered and excited to try whatever food Dalat had to offer us, we went into town to explore.

It has so much character, perhaps what the french alps would look like after a long ago war.

The air smelled delicious and the weather is wonderfully cool.

Dalat is famous for Artichoke tea, which you can buy in the Pharmacy for very cheap. It's one of the best teas I've ever tried.

It is also one of the few places in Vietnam that is famous for wine.We tried some ($2 a glass) and it tasted like a sweet dessert wine.

beautiful banana shop at night

Massive night market of food and second hand clothing

Chocolate Restaurant for kind service, good food, delicious tea and coffee and almost no chocolate.

My favourite tea set we encountered during the trip.